How Lake Powell Water Levels Have Changed So Far This Year

As spring arrives, Lake Powell’s water levels are set to change as snow melts down from the surrounding mountains.

The Colorado River reservoir, between Utah and Arizona, is one of the most vital lakes in the West alongside Lake Mead, meaning officials watch its fluctuating water levels closely.

So far this year, Lake Powell’s water levels have declined since January.

“Lake Powell does not get a lot of inflow over the winter while much of the snow remains frozen on the mountaintops, but it continues to release water downstream. Since January 1, the water in storage at Lake Powell has decreased by about 8 percent (640,000 acre-feet),” Jennifer Pitt, National Audubon Society’s Colorado River program director, told Newsweek.

“As spring turns into summer and temperatures warm, mountain snow will melt, and the water flowing into Lake Powell will increase as it does every year. However, by the end of 2024, the combined storage of the two reservoirs is expected to be a bit lower than it was at the end of last year, because total water demands (uses and evaporation) are expected to be greater than the water supply, even this year when snowpack is a bit above average,” Pitt said.

In January this year, Lake Powell kicked off the year with water levels of 3,568 feet. Since then, it has declined gradually.

Like many lakes and reservoirs in the western U.S., Lake Powell has seen extremely low water levels in recent years due to prolonged drought conditions paired with an overconsumption of water.

Formed by Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell has an important role in power generation as well as delivering water to the lower Colorado River basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada, meaning its low water levels are of great concern. It also acts as a hold tank for outflow from the upper basin states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah.

Thankfully, the lake saw some relief in 2023 due to a particularly wet year that resulted in record levels of snowpack. This year also looks good for water supply, due to above average snowpack level.

However, water officials stress that the reservoir, along with its neighbor Lake Mead, is not out of the woods yet.

“Any observer of the Colorado River has come to understand that fluctuation is the name of the game. We see fluctuations in the levels at both Lake Mead and Powell as a result of both operational cycles and the hydrology,” Andrea K. Gerlak, a professor at the school of geography, development and environment at the University of Arizona and director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, told Newsweek.

“This spring, these reservoirs will benefit from the melting snow in the Colorado Rocky Mountains but then these reservoirs will get drawn down over the summer months. At the end of the day, we are still facing a structural deficit because we are taking more water from than the system than it is providing us naturally.”

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